


Copper and Gold

by AstroBxts



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Backstory, OC, OC Story, OCs - Freeform, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 07:52:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17977325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstroBxts/pseuds/AstroBxts
Summary: This is the known life of Sprocket Delacroix, told in its chronological order.akaWOW KATELYNN ACTUALLY WROTE OUT AN OC BACKSTORY HECK





	Copper and Gold

——————-  
Spring, 1897  
——————

It was, as most mornings are in upstate New York, cold and dreary. In stark contrast to its outside surroundings, lights of red and green shone through the windows of Delacroix manor. If Dr. Delacroix had any neighbors, they may have called the police. However, the scientist’s constant experiments made anyone in a two mile vicinity move away. On this day the Doctor made a major breakthrough.

Dr. Delacroix stood near a small monitor, flipping switches on a small panel.The Doctor, Beatrix, was a woman of about 28. She was tall, standing at 6’8” without the help of heels. Her skin was ghostly pale, and her hair was long, dark, and pulled back into a loose bun. 

There were two large pod like containers attached to the wall, wire sprouted from the bottom of them, those wires fed straight into the monitor Beatrix was fiddling with. Looking closely at the containers, one would soon realize that they were sparking and steaming. 

As suddenly as they sparked and steamed, they went dormant. “Damn it!” Beatrix sighed, her voice coated in a thick Newark accent. “I’m so close, I just-“ She slammed her hand down on the table in frustration. “Have to figure this out.” 

However, it turns out, that one act of frustration would have a major effect on Madame Delacroix’s life. The pods shone with red and green lights respectively, and with a large unexpected burst of steam, two robots stepped out. 

The first to have stepped out was a male presenting bot, he was gold and silver, a panel of glass on his chest revealed a red substance that kept him running. Beatrix would come to name him Spark, as the young automaton seemed to have an eccentric personality and a tendency to become rather angry. “Tiny spark to a raging fire”, as they say. 

The second bot, was a feminine bot, she was shorter than her brother, she was mostly copper, with silver at her cheeks and joints, she also had a black silicone like substance for her ears and the cheek area that connected them to the rest of her face. The same softer substance was used for her lips. Beatrix had a name for her the second she was activated, she had tripped over a sprocket running over to greet her metaphorical children, and she took that as fate telling her something. 

Sprocket and Spark, were automations built for strictly entertainment. Beatrix hated that other automatons we’re built for war and violence. She hated war in general. Digressions aside, the two bots had been alive for, a good three seconds, before they had started an argument with each other. 

“Hah! I was activated first, older twin seniority baby!” Spark laughed. Sprocket immediately rolled her eyes, “We walked out at the same time, Goldie. That makes us equals.” 

Beatrix chimed in, “Actually,” She grabbed a small piece of paper from a printer near the far side of the room. “Goldie, that’s not your final name by the way, was active in his chamber 3 minutes before you were, Sprocket.”

Sprocket’s face shifted, the soft metal that made up her face scrunching around her nose. “Sprocket? That’s my name? I like it! It feels odd to not just be stuck in a computer with that dingus over there.” 

Spark gave his sister a small nod. “Agreed, even though you are most definitely the dingus.” 

——————-  
Summer, 1897  
———————

Beatrix had a husband mostly as a formality. His name was Thomas, he was a simple man who worked the railroads. He hated Beatrix’s creations. Spark, and his smug holier than thou personality. Sprocket, and her incessant singing. 

One day late in the summer of 87’, Spark was accompanying Sprocket on the piano as she did her vocal exercises. Beatrix wasn’t in the home, but Thomas was, and he was sick of the two robots and their antics.

The man walked into the room where the two bots were practicing, “Would you two shut your traps for once?” 

Spark saw an opportunity, he stopped playing. “What like you force, Ma’ to do? You hate that she has more of a brain then you ever will, oh, and she’s half your age. You hate that she created us, because you know it cements the fact that she’s a visionary, she’s made history. You’ve done what? Get black lung shoveling coal on the trains?” 

Whilst Spark pointed out every insecurity Thomas had, Sprocket kept playing, raising her voice an octave, so she could accompany herself on the piano. 

Thomas had had enough, he grabbed Sprocket by the back of her dress, and roughly pulled her away from the piano, Sprocket let out a small surprised squeak. She hit the floor with a loud metal thud. “She built you to feel pain, so I’ll make sure you feel it. This is my house, and you both will listen to me.” 

“I can very easily break ya neck pal. Touch my sister like that again and I will.” Spark said, a small threatening smile on his face. Thomas didn’t listen, and well, needless to say Spark kept his promise. 

“Jesus, Spark! You didn’t have to kill him. However, what’s done is done. Is Ma’ gonna be mad?” Sprocket asked, quirking a brow at her brother. 

“Nah. She said that she would do it herself but they’d probably burn her, or hang her. She hated him like we did.” Spark paused, “How are you not crying about this? I mean, Sprock, you cried because you found a dead rabbit last week.” 

Sprocket scrunched her nose, “That rabbit had something to live for and didn’t need to be killed. Thomas, however… I watched him hit Ma’ once. I wanted to do something, but that no violence protocol stopped me. How’d you override it?”

“I never had it in the first place. I was built to protect you, any means necessary.” He stated, as if reciting Beatrix’s notes from memory. “She knew building a bot that was feminine would lead to creeps and abusers, so she made me. My sole purpose is to protect you.” 

It wasn’t long before Beatrix returned home, realized what Spark had done, and realized that they all needed to get out of there before anyone suspected anything.

Beatrix packed up her things and moved herself and her automatons to San Diego, considering that that was where scientists like her were flourishing. 

——————-  
Spring, 1927  
——————

Beatrix was dying. She knew working with the materials that powered her bots would kill her, and it was finally happening. Her skin was pale, unnaturally so, she was as white as snow, and her freckles had turned a lime green color. It was as if the toxins that radiated from the chemical that ran her bots had sank their way into her every pore. Her naturally black hair was now a deep red. 

Col. Walter had called it Matter Poisoning. The effects of working with such volatile substances like Red and Green matter was unknown, it would seem Beatrix was the test subject. 

——————-  
April 22nd, 1927  
——————

They knew it was coming, they were powerless to stop it, it was their fault. Sprocket watched as her creator died, her theoretical mother was gone. 

Beatrix did not die peacefully, Matter poisoning had wrecked her to her core. Her last action on this mortal plane was coughing up blood, and a lot of it. Sprocket was the only one in the room when she passed. Spark couldn’t bear to see Bea like that, and well, they were her only living next of kin. 

Sprocket left the room, her hands shaky, thick oily tears running down her face, she hadn’t felt loss like this before, and would only ever truly feel it once more in the coming years.

——————-  
1941  
——————

The US enters WWII. Army, Naval, and Airforce forces take any and all robotic soldiers, hoping to reduce human casualties. 

Sprocket was definitely not built for this sort of thing, she presented rather feminine and that lead to issues with some of the male humans in her squadron. She had never even shot a gun before she and her brother arrived in Warsaw, Poland. 

Spark was built for this, or at least, more so than his sister. Unlike Sprocket, he had in fact used a gun before. You really have to assert your masculinity when you’re gay in the early 1900’s. Nevertheless, he was the one to train Sprocket, and as it turned out, the little copper lady was quite the sharpshooter. 

In their squad there were three other robots, all three of which were built by Col. Peter Walter I. Sprocket quickly took a liking to the tall, copper automaton, Rabbit. Spark got along well with the Walter’s own tall golden boy, The Jon. 

Things went well. As far as its known, no human casualties were caused by the bots in the squadron. It’s more accurate, really, to say things went well and then, well, things went very very badly. 

The bots and the humans they were with had been in a nonstop firefight for two days. Spark was drained, he was tired, and he was out of bullets. He saw someone take aim at his sister, his sole purpose for existing, the one who sure as hell didn’t need to be in this fucked up war. 

Hell, he said to the man who showed up at their doorstep, “She’s a lady, you aren’t sending human women to die. Are ya?” 

The man’s response made Spark’s coolant boil, “It is a hunk of metal, would you rather us disassemble it? ‘Cause that’s what they’ll do to it. Take it apart for better uses.”

Spark responded with a snarl, baring shiny porcelain teeth. “Call my sister an it one more time, pal. Watch what happens.”

Now, there they were in a place that Beatrix would have fought for them not to go to. They weren’t built for war, they were built to entertain and make people happy. Spark knew what he needed to do.

Spark Delacroix was deemed inoperable on November 21st 1941. One bullet straight through his main CPU. His final act was written in his programing his whole life, protect Sprocket.

 

——————-  
1945  
——————

World War II was over. Sprocket stepped through the door of her home, and it finally hit her, she was alone. For the first time in her whole life she was truly alone. 

She isolated herself for the longest time. However, something told her that she needed to perform, so she packed up most of her things and moved to Vegas. There she met a seemingly kind robot. His name was Snake-Eyes Wesley. Sprocket quickly developed feelings for the younger bot. 

Sprocket was unaware of the true intentions of Snake-Eyes. He played an act that made it seem as if he truly loved her, however behind closed doors he became violent and abusive. She stayed with him for 20 years, until he kicked her to the curb when she stopped making him money. 

——————-  
1965  
——————

Sprocket was, once again, alone. This time though, she was glad, happy even, to be by herself. She moved back into Beatrix’s old home in San Diego. She began work on a company that would publish Beatrix’s scientific findings. Bea had made the patents years ago, never doing anything with them as her health took a turn for the worst. 

Sprocket named the company Delacroix Robotics, creating two non-profits alongside it. The first was a fund to support young girls going into science, she called it the Beatrix Louise Scholarship fund. The second was a charity, she called it the Spark Foundation, and all proceeds went to paying medical bills and giving housing to soldiers, veterans, and their families.  
Sprocket visited Beatrix and Spark’s graves every week. They were buried next to each other. She kept them updated on her life and the goings on of the world. She wasn’t sure if there was an afterlife… She just hoped wherever they were they were they were happy, and proud of her. 

——————-  
2007  
——————

Things were normal for Sprocket, her life had slipped into a routine, volunteer work on the weekdays and performing on the weekends. The 110 year old bot had fallen into a bit of disrepair, she definitely needed to hire a mechanic. 

The universe had heard her plea. She met a young kid, they were homeless, and incredibly talented in robotics. 

She was exiting the cemetery when one of her legs malfunctioned, she fell, her metal plating screeching against the sidewalk. She heard a sort of feminine voice from behind her say, “Loose leg wiring.” 

She brushed the dirt off her jeans and turned to face the person who spoke, “It’s a lot more than that but ya got one of the things right.” 

The kid who spoke was tall, androgynous and they looked tired. “Oh shit. I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Ace. Not to sound weird, but I’ve been following you, and I’ve noticed you’re in quite a state of disrepair. Who’s been working on you?” 

Sprocket stifled a laugh. “On me? Kid, I’ve been on my own since the 60’s. Also get better at sneaking, I noticed you four blocks ago, I wasn’t gonna say anything though. I get it it’s odd to see an automaton by themselves. I’m Sprocket.”

Ace smiled, it was the first time anyone had been kind to him in a long while. “I wasn’t trying to sneak. Also, Sprocket? As in Delacroix? Wow. Never thought I’d meet you in the chassis. I got that scholarship, but then they learned I’m a trans dude, and they took it away from me.”

Sprocket scrunched her nose, “Whoa what? Oh I’m gonna have a talk with that committee. I’ll pay for your college, kid. When I made the fund, I wanted it to be all inclusive, but nooo, we had to make silly needless rules.” She rolled her eyes. “You look starving, you want me to buy you lunch?”

Ace was surprised by the lady-bot’s blunt kindness. He took her up on her offer. “Thank you.” He said, his gaze falling to the table. “It’s been awhile since anyone has shown me any kindness.” 

Sprocket’s brows raised. Someone hurt this kid, and she knew she had to do something. “Where are your parents, Ace?”

Ace sarcastically laughed. “Oh please. Those assholes kicked me out the second they learned that I’m trans. All ‘No daughter of mine will pretend to be a boy’. Newsflash, they never had a daughter!” Ace rolled his eyes. 

Sprocket felt her heart drop. “That’s it.” She said suddenly. “You’re my kid now.” She stated. “I’ll give you a place to stay, pay for your school, and your transition when your ready. In return, you’re my live in mechanic.” 

Ace’s jaw hit the floor. “A-are you sure?” He felt himself tear up. “You’re not fucking with me?”

Sprocket gave the boy a small smile. “I need a mechanic and the universe gave me you. You need someone who cares and the universe gave you me. I truly think that’s some higher power telling us something.” 

 

——————-  
2008  
——————

Sprocket needed Ace’s parents to sign the custody forms even though the boy had been living with the woman for slightly over a year. They walked into the office his father worked in. 

“Alexandria, have you finally decided that this whole thing is silly, are you going to come to your senses and come home?” Ace’s father, Charles asked. The way the man spoke to Ace made Sprocket’s coolant boil.

“Sir, I just need you to sign these forms and Ace and I will be on our way.” She read the nametag on the desk, “Becile, huh?” She said quietly under her breath. 

“What are the forms?” Charles looked at Sprocket with a quirked brow. 

Ace spoke up. “Custody forms.” He locked eyes with his father, “Cause you obviously don’t give a shit about me.”

“And what? This thing does?” Charles sneered. 

“You know, for a man who’s the descendant of one of the greatest minds of a generation, you’re quite the bigot.” Sprocket said off-handedly. “Thaddeus would never approve of this sort of behavior. At least he’d try to understand, unlike you, who sees something different and immediately tries to get rid of it. I am not a thing, Mr. Becile. I am the product of a brilliant mind gone too soon. The names Sprocket Delacroix.” 

Charles was taken aback, “How do you know what Thaddeus would think? He’s been dead for like 80 years.” 

“Jackass, I’m an automaton, I was there, I knew him. Now sign the papers.” She rolled her eyes, handing the man the forms. “Please. I’d like to take my son home.” 

Charles signed the forms. “Fine, but you don’t get your inheritance.” He stated, looking at Ace. 

Sprocket stifled a laugh. “What, inheriting the fact that the name Becile is seemingly cursed, Delacroix suits him much better.”

——————-  
2012  
——————

Ace turned 18, decided against going to college. He stayed at home working on his own inventions. He officially became Head of Engineering at Delacroix Robotics three months after his 18th birthday. 

Sprocket met up with some old friends from World War II, Rabbit was cuter than ever, and Sprocket is hopelessly in love. 

Sprocket occasionally performed with the Walter Bot’s band, Steam Powered Giraffe. 

——————-  
Spring, 2013  
——————

Ace did something Sprocket explicitly told him not to. There was never a body in Spark’s grave. His body was in the Delacroix basement. Spark wasn’t actually dead. Ace could fix him.

Light made Sparks photoreceptors reel back into his metal skull. “Jesus H!” He was jarred. “Wait holy--- Oh my lord, I’m not dead! I coulda sworn that bullet was gonna be my downfall. Hah, shows those Nazi bastards!” 

“Whoa whoa, slow down there dude. You were dead. For a long time. You must think it’s what 1941? It’s 2013. You’ve been out for quite some time. I’m Ace. Sprocket adopted me in 2007 cause my parents were assholes.”

Spark sat up. “2013, huh? Why didn’t she work on me sooner?” 

Ace sighed, “She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t think I knew what to do. She still doesn’t. She doesn’t know I did this, but she has missed you so much and it hurts her to know that she was powerless to stop what happened to you.”

“She blamed herself… It wasn’t her fault. We were all out of it.” Spark had a somber expression. “Nevertheless, where is she? Oh I can’t wait to see her goofy face!” He shot up, immediately noticing his plating was out for the world to see. “Clothes first.” He ran up the stairs and noticed his room was untouched. 

Sprocket arrived home to notice the door of Spark’s room was opened. “ACE! What did I-” 

 

That was when Spark stepped out of his room, good as new. “Hey, Sprock.” 

The shorter twin ran over to her brother and nearly knocked him over, enveloping him in a hug. She had thick oily tears streaming down her face. “Wh- How? Who cares how! I missed you!!” 

Spark stifled a chuckle. “I can tell. Ace is a good kid, Sprock. Now, you have about 72 years of stuff to catch me up on.” 

Sprocket told him everything that had happened since the war. He internally swore that if he ever met Snake-Eyes Wesley, he’d put him in a shallow grave. 

 

——————-  
Present Day  
——————

Ace is now CEO of Delacroix Robotics, and is married to a woman named Farrah, they still live in the Delacroix Mansion. He built an automaton instead of having children. Her name is Beatrix Delacroix II, and like her namesake is absurdly tall. Sprocket appreciates the sentiment. 

Spark and Sprocket perform together. In their spare time, Spark teaches history at the local high school and Sprocket volunteers at the local animal shelter. 

Spark performs solo at a local jazz club. He’s dating the bartender there. 

The Delacroix twins visit their mother’s grave whenever they can. They hope she’s proud of them.


End file.
